Does a Hood Blanket really make a difference? - Page 3 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

redassag00 · #31 11-28-2006, 11:03 AM

I used a "Waffle" Style on my old W123, seems to absorb noise better with the setup.

Mismost · #32 11-28-2006, 12:36 PM

I used duct board, the rigid insulated foil faced stuff they make air conditioning ducts out of and it was easy to work with, does seem to deaden the sound, and was cheaper to boot. I am not a purist....crude, but effective is fine by me!

I will add that I love how the foil reflects light back into the engine compartment and brightens up the work area.

flash123 · #33 11-29-2006, 10:12 PM

it is 6:52 PM and the temp is 9 degrees farenheit outside
last night the low was minus 11 f

Since I was ordering suspension parts from fastlane yesterday I had Phil throw in a hood pad. My logic was that it might help keep the engine warm overnite.

OK it may not make a difference, but how could it hurt?

Perhaps in a week or two I can post the results of the replacement

off topic, but,

unable to start my 300SD today
can't blame it, I'd have rather stayed home as well.

I removed the plastic tube on the horn of the air cleaner
I put a heat gun into the horn and went to get a battery charger
when I got back the air filter had caught fire
there is / no, was a plastic thingy over the horn in the middle of the air cleaner. It melted. It dripped down into the horn. I took what was left of it out. Next I will vacuum out the intake to the turbo.

The engine has not been turned over yet.

And yes, I did include a block heater in my fastlane order.

Now, the question
what does the air cleaner look like with the cover off?
Could I be lucky enough so that I just have to clean up the mess and replace that one plastic thingey? The flat plastic tube that connects through the top of the air cleaner cover is undamaged. The what's-it that the plastic thingey connects to is undamaged.

vstech · #34 11-29-2006, 10:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flash123

it is 6:52 PM and the temp is 9 degrees farenheit outside
last night the low was minus 11 f

Since I was ordering suspension parts from fastlane yesterday I had Phil throw in a hood pad. My logic was that it might help keep the engine warm overnite.

OK it may not make a difference, but how could it hurt?

Perhaps in a week or two I can post the results of the replacement

off topic, but,

unable to start my 300SD today
can't blame it, I'd have rather stayed home as well.

I removed the plastic tube on the horn of the air cleaner
I put a heat gun into the horn and went to get a battery charger
when I got back the air filter had caught fire
there is / no, was a plastic thingy over the horn in the middle of the air cleaner. It melted. It dripped down into the horn. I took what was left of it out. Next I will vacuum out the intake to the turbo.

The engine has not been turned over yet.

And yes, I did include a block heater in my fastlane order.

Now, the question
what does the air cleaner look like with the cover off?
Could I be lucky enough so that I just have to clean up the mess and replace that one plastic thingey? The flat plastic tube that connects through the top of the air cleaner cover is undamaged. The what's-it that the plastic thingey connects to is undamaged.

WOW a heat gun... those things sure do put out the heat. I can take a picture of my air cleaner assembly if you need it. John

flash123 · #35 11-29-2006, 10:40 PM

vstech,
that would be really cool,
If you could send a picture I mean.
I replaced the air filter a few months ago but do not remember what it looked like b4.

peterhardie · #36 11-30-2006, 07:50 AM

The hood blanket is really a hood pad, for heat and sound reduction. It will do nothing for the engine temps overnight.

The block heater should help with the no-start. The block heater is an option for a reason; these diesels don't like the frigid weather. The block heater works by getting the temp inside the cylinders up, as well as by warming the fuel in the pump and connecting lines, just enough to make the engine think it is 30 degrees and not 0. It also warms up the oil, speeding up the cranking a bit which helps with compression.

I would do a search here for how to put that thing in; if I recall, it ain't easy.

If you use a heat gun, point it at the injection pump. Wave it around at the injection lines and injectors. Can't melt anything on that side! (OOOPS! Don't hit your fuel return lines, or fuel feed lines, or vacuum lines, or....)

I never thought of a heat gun; when I have been in trouble, I have used hot water on the injection pump and that whole side of the engine generally. A couple stockpots full and the car will start.

The other option that many use is repeated cycling of the glow plugs. Forget the light on the dash. Turn to glow, wait till you hear the relay click out, return to glow, wait, glow, wait, then try to start. In icy weather, you won't start just waiting for the glow light to go out.

Where are you anyway? Out west? Upstate NY is supposed to be high sixties today, forties at night. Snow next week!

flash123 · #37 11-30-2006, 10:02 AM

After clearly stating for public view that I am an idiot, by leaving a heat gun unattended, I will remove all doubt by stating that I still believe that a new pad will help. The metal hood gets cold and conducts heat away from the engine, with a layer of insulation under the hood, it has to slow down that process. All I hope for is for the engine to stay warm a little longer.

I will look look up "installing block heater"

Was it Telly Sevallis in "The Dirty Dozen" that said that the WWII German Tiger tank had to be started every four hours and run for 15 minutes in winter? I took his advice and started my Ford Econoline every four hours last night. It started fine this morning, but it is a balmy 12 degrees.

It's times like this I wish I had a gasser in the remunda. My next car will run on a fuel that does not turn into jello.

Winnemucca, Nevada. Just a few miles south of the Oregon border, at 4,000 ft

Mark DiSilvestro · #38 11-30-2006, 10:26 AM

One wonders why the block-heater was OPTIONAL. Should've been STANDARD at the price these cars originally cost! Like the 'optional' right-hand Mirror I just added to my 240D. I guess those Germans won't give away anything!

Happy Motoring, Mark

Hit Man X · #39 11-30-2006, 01:00 PM

If not for sound, do it for looks...

Carrameow · #40 11-30-2006, 02:21 PM

I have done some advanced engineering research on reducing hood acoustics which I will describe below. The conclusions I reached were astonishing and I was invited to Stuttgart to give a demonstration of my experiments below which I am revealing for the first time. To achieve 2 to 3 dB of engine noise reduction at a ambient temperature of 57 degrees Celsius and an atmospheric pressure of 14.699987 psi with ambient humidity of 57.56% . No specialized sound measurement or reduction instrumentation was used as the conducted trials made use of the human year and qualitative judgement (Ref : Volume 1, Mercedes Stuggeten and Lars pages 102 to 109 2002 Berlin Stuttgart Press) The initial step of this proof is to throw open your hood as your first experiment to get a baseline measurement. Doesn't your engine sound louder? Note this on a 8.5 x 3.5 index card. As your next experiment find a material in your house such as the new down comforter your wife just bought and fold it to the size of your hood and throw it in there and close the hood. Run the engine for at least half an hour. Now doesn't your engine sound doubly quieter. Again, note this on an index card. As your third experiment, finally reach for something even thicker, such as the nice Persian Carpet on your hardwood floor. Now throw that on top of your down comforter and slam the hood and slam the hood again and run the car again for say an hour and a half. What will you hear now? Nothing! Why? Because you are Dead as your wife has probably killed you.

Mark DiSilvestro · #41 11-30-2006, 06:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hit Man X

If not for sound, do it for looks...

Well, I like the shiny, painted underside of my hood. Of course this hood never had a pad, so I don't have to look at ugly dried blobs of old pad and adhesive.

Happy Motoring, Mark

peterhardie · #42 12-01-2006, 07:14 AM

It would probably be a waste to put block heaters in cars doing taxi service in Cairo. The bean counters at MB got involved and decided to cut a step out of the assembly process.

There are guys (MB sales reps??) who will swear that they can start their car down to 0 degrees F without a block heater. I am suspect, having had two wagons which ran fairly well, and were maintained well, and would not start below freezing without a lot of coaxing and getting up earlier in the am without a plug. My current wagon only has 160K (the others were over 300K), and it was a tech's car, so it is uneventful in winter now. If I know it is going to be below 20F and don't want to gamble, I plug.

I have found that an eight-hours-cold engine will fire easier than a twelve-hours-cold one. Sometimes I will go out at 11p and run the car for 30 mins if I know the am is going to be frigid. It helps.

ALSO: if your battery is over 5 years old, get a fresh one with the most cranking power you can find. And like it or not, the starters on mine have needed refreshing; age slows their cranking speed. I plan to at least bench test mine at 200K. I put new ones in my previous wagons and it made a difference. Cold diesels need good starting rpms. Clean air and fuel filters, and a valve adjustment covers it. Keep your favorite diesel additive in the tank for gelling.

Which reminds me to put the extra extension cord in the wagon!

peterhardie · #43 12-01-2006, 07:22 AM

...and many great ideas start out as idiotic. The remaining idiotic ideas are "learning opportunities!" Don't ask me about heating solvent to clean a carburetor.

I actually like the heat gun idea, never thought of it. Of course, my heat gun is buried in a drawer somewhere (reminder: put that in the car too!).

On slowing heat loss, you might be right. Couldn't hurt.

Someone needs to do a test with a temp reader, starting with a hot engine on a 0F day, block readings every hour. Anyone have one of those remote temp guns??